Hosea 4

Hosea 4Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Israel Is Unfaithful

4 Israel, listenas the Lord accuseseveryone in the land!No one is faithful or loyalor truly cares about God.2 Cursing, dishonesty, murder,robbery, unfaithfulness—these happen all the time.Violence is everywhere.3 And so your land is a desert.Every living creature is dying—people and wild animals,birds and fish.

The Lord Warns the Priests

4 Don’t accuse just anyone!Not everyone is at fault.My case is against you,the priests.[a]5 You and the prophetswill stumble day and night;I’ll silence your mothers.6 You priests have rejected me,and my people are destroyedby refusing to obey.Now I’ll reject you and forgetyour children,because youhave forgotten my Law.

7 By adding more of you priests,you multiply the numberof people who sin.Now I’ll change your prideinto shame.8 You encourage others to sin,so you can stuff yourselveson their sin offerings.

9 That’s why I will punishthe people for their deeds,just as I will punishyou priests.10 Their food won’t satisfy,and having sex at pagan shrineswon’t produce children.My people have rebelled11 and have been unfaithfulto me, their Lord.

God Condemns Israel’s Idolatry

My people, you are foolishbecause of too much pleasureand too much wine.12 You expect wooden idolsand other objects of woodto give you advice.Lusting for sex at pagan shrineshas made you unfaithfulto me, your God.13 You offer sacrificeson mountaintops and hills,under oak trees, and wherevergood shade is found.

Your own daughtersand daughters-in-lawsell themselves for sex.14 But I won’t punish them.You men are to blame,because you go to prostitutesand offer sacrifices with themat pagan shrines.Your own foolishnesswill lead to your ruin.15 Israel, you are unfaithful,but don’t lead Judah to sin.Stop worshiping at Gilgalor at sinful Bethel.[b]And quit making promisesin my name—the nameof the living Lord.16 You are nothing morethan a stubborn cow—so stubborn that I, the Lord,cannot feed you like lambsin an open pasture.

17 You people of Israel[c]are charmed by[d] idols.Leave them alone!18 You get drunk, then sleepwith prostitutes;you would rather be vulgarthan lead a decent life.[e]19 And so you will be swept awayin a whirlwindfor sacrificing to idols.

Footnotes:

4.4priests: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 4. Hosea may have had in mind only one priest, possibly the chief priest.

4.15sinful Bethel: The Hebrew text has “Beth-Aven,” which means “house of sin” or “house of nothing,” referring to “Bethel,” which means “house of God.”

4.17Israel: The Hebrew text has “Ephraim,” the leading tribe of the northern kingdom of Israel, which sometimes stands for the whole kingdom.

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